


Unpausing Life

by Hiruma_Musouka



Series: canon commentary [9]
Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!
Genre: Crack Relationships, Established Relationship, Immortal!Skull, M/M, Post-Canon, Rare Pairings, Sensuality
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-17
Updated: 2016-04-17
Packaged: 2018-06-02 21:09:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6582520
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hiruma_Musouka/pseuds/Hiruma_Musouka
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Verde had theorized that the rest of them might have to wait and age normally in comparison to Lal's immediate restoration. It wasn't a *bad* theory, Skull admitted, if you took into account Verde's ignorance of certain... unmentioned background factors.</p><p>((potential continuation of the Fluff verse from the <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/works/5877037">10 sentence meme</a>))</p>
            </blockquote>





	Unpausing Life

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Shimmer712](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shimmer712/gifts).



> This fic was inspired by a very specific conversation with Shimmer712. I blinked at my own brain when I thought of this pairing, and I'd love honest opinions from people.
> 
> The song mentioned in the story is "Anything" by Hedley.

"Come on, Oodako," Skull beckoned, yawning as he gestured towards the backpack at his feet before tightening the hood on his poncho.

The waterproof plastic was that almost-ugly blue shade that was bafflingly popular for some reason, and he couldn't help scrunching his nose up at the sight of it when he glanced in the motel's mirror. He took a moment to carefully shove any hint of purple hair under the poncho and then fastened the ties below his chin where they'd stay put.

"Yeah, I know," Skull agreed as Oodako made a disgusted squeal, one tiny tentacle tugging at the bottom of the plastic. "It's definitely ugly as sin, but it's raining and it works."

He grabbed the backpack from the floor, shrugging it on carefully so that his octopus friend wasn't jostled badly, and then took a moment to just luxuriate in the absolute lack of pain going on right now. _Being_ an Arcobaleno was never physically painful, but _usually_ , relinquishing that status was like volunteering for level fifty on The Machine from _The Princess Bride_. Skull was used to experiencing lingering agony for weeks after the Final Day. It's not like anyone could rightfully expect it to be painless, at any rate. After all, the _Vindice_ are what happen when an Arcobaleno stops being an Arcobaleno.

You sure as hell don't get to that state without pain.

 _Not that many people had known that origin story before last week_ , he thought, gently pulling one of Oodako's arms away from where it had curled around his neck. One last double-check of the room ensured he hadn't forgotten anything he wanted to take with him, so he leaned down, picked up the suitcase with his disassembled mini-motorcycle hidden inside, and exited the room.

"Make sure to stay hidden, little guy," he murmured softly, as he pulled the door shut.

The quiet sound of the backpack zipping shut partway was his only answer.

Skull casually glanced down the hallway, confirmed the security cameras were still down from where he'd disabled them after check-in a week ago - which really said all that needed to be said about this motel - and made his way to the front desk. He nodded to one of the other guests on the way, a basic and forgettable greeting rolling off his tongue as he reached into his pocket with his free hand.

The tacky, cheap, octopus shaped pendant he pulled out might have caught some attention if there'd been more people awake this early in the morning, but it went unnoticed in the empty hall. He pushed the button for the elevator, unlatched the expensive platinum chain to slip the pendant off, and passed the metal over his shoulder where Oodako stuck out a limb to grab it from him. A glance around and then right before the elevator doors opened, Skull opened his mouth and bit down on the necklace with Cloud reinforced strength.

It fractured in his mouth uncomfortably, hard man-made fragments pressing into his gums along with a goddawful taste until it abruptly dissolved into spun sugar icing, blackberry filling, and warmed flaky pastry. Skull gave out a pleased hum, stepped into the elevator and carefully hit the ground floor button with a knuckle so he didn't drop the remaining half of the fruit tart.

"Not bad this time," he muttered, giving the tart a considering look. His eyes fell shut halfway at the pleasantly familiar sensation of Mist Flames rolling outwards from both his chest and the pastry. The Cloud followed them in his mind, visualizing the invisible twists of energy as they blurred cameras, muffled attention, and erased evidence. He had to mentally shoo them away from his motel room, encouraging them to ignore the clothes and accouterments he'd left behind on purpose. It felt almost like they were giving him a disparaging sniff when they finally consented to moving on.

Skull rolled his eyes, leaving them alone and coming back to himself fully as the intercom dinged and the elevator door opened. Since the dramatic little Mist spell had started merging into the subtle aura that engulfed Namimori, he felt it safe to assume he could leave it alone at this point.

Not that he could have easily stopped the effects anyway if it had decided to be bitchy, but if the other Arcobaleno actually went looking for him, he'd rather leave behind clues he could predict. With the Mist blackout on cameras in this section of the city and his abandoned stuff left behind, they would assume it had to be a mafia group taking advantage of the chaos caused by the curse breaking. It's not like an independent agent could easily take down all surveillance while simultaneously nabbing an experienced (if "useless") mafioso.

If nothing else, it would distract them all quite nicely by triggering a long goose chase over in Italy until he could decide what he felt like doing with his life now. Presuming the arrogant jerks even noticed he was gone, of course. Stunt work had been enjoyable for the few years he'd managed it before the curse. And if he chose to work with the movie industry, there was never any shortage on the variety of challenges available. Although the freedom in creating his own bike stunts was also really appealing, and he had maybe gotten a bit too used to wearing his helmet...

 _But even if it was too small now, I LIKE that helmet_ , Skull thought, pouting to himself as he stepped forward while taking a bite of tart. Leaving the helmet behind was key if he wanted them to suspect a kidnapping, but that didn't mean he couldn't be grouchy about it!

 _Maybe I'll get someone to steal it back for me depending on what the motel does with it after I check-out_ , he considered. _It's not like it'll be hard to track if done right: it was altered for purification and that's not common._

The standard motel check-out came after that. He gave the clerk his keycard, signed on the line, paid the man, and left. The same clerk was on duty as had been there when he'd checked-in after the Arcobaleno battles ended, and Skull couldn't quite resist grinning at the man's blank face. The guy was one of the borderliners with just enough inactive Flame in just the right set-up that the Pacifier illusion didn't _quite_ make him look at Skull and think of him as an adult like it did to some other people. Skull could practically see the cogs spinning in the guy's head as he tried to figure out what it was about Skull that seemed so damn off in comparison to when he had checked in.

Not that the Pacifier illusion would have been working fully when Skull had checked in. Even without the Final Day occurring like normal this go around, it was still breaking down rapidly now that its secondary anchor had been discarded in favor of a fancy light bulb.

A couple dozen fat drops of rain hitting his face quickly drew Skull's attention back to earth. He stuck his tongue out at the sky for a second and then strode off to the right, heading towards downtown Namimori.

It was a fantastic day, in his opinion. There was a proper rain: none of that barely there drizzle that clung to everything or a besieging downpour that brought flooding to mind. Just a steady, refreshing rain lit by the morning light washing over the world like a peaceful background music. The green leaves shone in contrast, the people were mostly indoors, and the world seemed quiet and open and full of unknown possibility for the first time in countless years.

If it was just a little earlier in the day, Skull would have been tempted to move to the sound of memorized music, but even devoid of makeup and piercings, that spontaneous openness would catch too much attention in a reserved society like Japan. He'd be really annoyed if he got himself caught this late in the game after all his efforts.

 _Everybody said boy, don't go any higher! Uh, uh, fuck that, I can do anything,_ he thought, humming happily as he quietly snapped his fingers to the rhythm of the song. _Never push the limit and don't play with fire. Uh, uh, fuck that, I can do anything._

He stepped into a thin alley between shops and reached backwards behind him as he walked.

"Hey, buddy, can you— There we are! Thanks," he said, smiling as Oodako handed him the necklace back. A brief moment to reattach the clasp, and then he continued forward, spinning the shimmering chain around his right wrist like a hula-hoop.

_A hundred thousand disbelievers couldn't keep me on the ground. I've invented a momentum that'll never slow me down. I believe it 'cause I feel it and I shout it out loud. I can, I can, I can so!_

Cloud Flames flickered along the revolving chain, becoming a whirling wheel of violet that flashed indigo for a brief moment right as Skull stepped through the back wall of the dead-end alley.

His foot landed on grass as expected and he had to laugh for a moment, just staring up at the perfect blue sky above the sprawling house on the hill.

"Really?" he said aloud, ignoring the necklace as it blazed brighter and morphed into an intricate ring around his middle finger. "You really went so far as to ignore all the weather outside your territory as well? There's nothing wrong with rain."

Oodako give a concerned trill, cautiously edging an arm out to test the air.

"Don't worry, buddy," he soothed, yanking the hood off his head as he shrugged one shoulder out of the backpack's straps. He unzipped the backpack the rest of the way and let the nervous octopus out where Oodako promptly clung to his forearm before rapidly scooting upwards to cling near Skull's neck. " _Don't worry_. We _like_ these Mist Flames. This is home here... Well, sorta. As much as anything is right now."

He continued up the path to the main door, awkwardly unzipping the poncho, and snorting as Oodako insisting on clinging to Skull's face rather than letting go while the Cloud yanked the poncho over his head.

"TADAIMA!" he yelled, obnoxiously loud so that the sound echoed unrealistically through the huge place. He had to stop and smile softly though when he saw the towel waiting on the hook to his left. He patted his face dry while slipping off the ratty sandals he was using and then abandoned the wet poncho, backpack, and bike case in the entryway as he walked inside.

"Hel—lo?" a young man said, cheerful voice trailing off into confusion as he blinked at Skull from another doorway while the Cloud walked past. "You're the guest we're expecting?" Wonomichi said with surprised recognition.

"Not really a guest!" Skull countered, spinning around to offer a grin as he walked backwards. "It's sorta my place, too."

"Ummmm..."

"Just call me Skull. We'll talk later if you want," he offered, turning back and waving over his shoulder before he turned a corner and walked a few steps downward.

It was a beautiful place. Nothing Skull had seen before personally so it had to be something new. _Maybe he got tired of the Spanish look?_ he thought, appreciating the central garden of the house that was visible through the glass sliding doors on his right. Everything was really nicely made, too. Either he'd been playing around with anchored Mist stuff out of boredom again, or maybe he just had the house built somewhere and then dragged it inside the Mist territory.

"Well, looksie, Oodako. There's your aquarium," Skull said, smiling as he found the main bedroom with an aquarium left tellingly to the right of the doors.

Although 'aquarium' might have been a deceptively simple word for the thing. It was a huge, perfectly transparent glass sphere perched in the cradle of a varnished tree trunk that had split into three pieces to grow around the globe in several, spiraling terraces. Each limb had moss and tiny impossible flowers growing out of it's top side, and at the very apex of the sphere water flowed upwards against gravity in a twisting column that arched over the walkway, went through a circular opening in the glass doors, and slid downwards into the large pond that twisted throughout the colorful garden in the center of the house.

Oodako perked up, squeaking his interest, and Skull stepped closer so that the currently small octopus could press a tentacle against the glass. A brief pause and the Oodako darted back, surprised when the glass let him pass through. Skull nodded when his friend looked at him and then held his left arm up so Oodako could ease along it and grab one of the terraces before sliding through the 'glass' into his new space.

"Like it?" Skull asked, watching Oodako cling to the rocks inside, winding around anemone and coral and shifting colors as he looked at the different fish. He swam upwards, stuck an arm into the water tunnel, and then proceeded to casually swim into the arc when nothing happened.

Skull watched his friend go have fun and only opened the bedroom door once Oodako had vanished from sight into the garden's pond.

The room was large and comfortable and lit dimly with sunshine that seeped through the thick curtains. The king-sized bed with its comfy sheets, soft blankets and fluffy pillows was singing his name, though, as he was abruptly reminded that, comparatively pain-free or not, the last week had been filled with nothing but rapid growth spurts, eating, and exhaustion.

He shucked off his clothes, dropping the ill-fitting, ugly things on the ground as he went. He wasn't even surprised when everything Oodako had stolen for him, including the underwear, just vanished as it hit the floor. Oodako was a lot of things, but a good taste in human fashion wasn't one of them. But beggars couldn't be choosers when you were stuck in a motel room and outgrew all your things.

It was probably only Wonomichi's presence which had kept the clothes from vanishing off his body the moment he stepped in the house, to be honest.

He threw himself on the bed, snuggling face first into the soft perfection of the sheets as he shoved all the blankets to the other side, barely bothering to snag the sheet to cover one leg and his ass before deciding it was all just too much trouble to deal with.

Skull sighed, truly content for the first time in a long, long age and just let himself drift off a bit into that lovely relaxed state on the edge of sleep. Time had no meaning. Place had no meaning. And the warm hand that encircled his right ankle could stay there, just like that, if it knew what was good for it.

"Really?" an amused voice inquired, one finger trailing across the bottom of Skull's foot teasingly.

"Yes, really," the Cloud muttered, flexing out his foot before stretching further to press it against the warm thigh that had settled on the bed at some point during his drowsy napping. He made happy sounds when a second hand settled on his calf and a slow massage started up.

"Presumptuous thing," the voice said, fingers tapping on his ankle. "Just throwing yourself on my bed like _this_."

A hand slid up Skull's leg to the edge of the sheet before lightly dusting across cloth and coming back down the other leg in a taunting glide.

"Like the wondrous defiance of physics you call an aquarium wasn't a gilded invitation to use this room," Skull retorted sleepily, smoothly flexing all the muscles in his back deliberately before cracking his right eye open even as he snuggled the other side of his face into the pillows.

"Hi, _Kawahira_ ," Skull said, a bit of mocking seeping into the name as he tightened his arms around the pillow beneath his head, smirking a bit as he watched purple eyes flick obediently to his biceps at the movement.

"Hello, _Skull_ ," he replied, a white eyebrow flicking up before he dug a thumb into a tight muscle. "You're here earlier than expected."

"I don't think you can rightfully claim to be surprised when you knew I was coming as soon as your illusion trigger broke. Nice tart, by the way, I want another one. Did your kid make that one?" the Cloud asked, toes curling at the steady pressure stroking his calf.

"Perhaps. He's been experimenting with cooking recently, but he also tends to run out to bakeries or restaurants to buy replacements if he messes up whatever food he has planned. He's a bit nervous about it all the time and doesn't like to let me know when he had to resort to buying things."

"And do you _actually_ not know or are you just smiling at him and _pretending_ not to know?" Skull questioned, watching a teasing smile form. The former stuntman snorted softly and flexed a bit, ignoring how several vertebrae audibly popped in favor of trying to work out the stiffness in his mid-back.

He might have been a bit overly generous in how pain-free he thought he was but _in comparison_ to what normally happened? He'd _take_ the sore muscles and still be one ecstatically happy Cloud.

"Where did you even pick up the kid?" Skull asked, twisting his torso like a cat so that his left shoulder was under him without moving the leg the Mist was working on. "I got to tell you, that was a definite surprise. I thought he was just one of your constructs until you showed up in the getup to counter Bermuda's accusation that Wonomichi knew about the Pacifier transfer. Since when does mister "not-fond-of-humans" bother with picking up strays? Unless he's not a baseline human?"

"Now that is a story, isn't it? Maybe I just got bored like you suggested? More factors to account for make things more challenging?" he offered, eyes going half-lidded as they traced Skull's exposed torso before his expression sharpened. The Mist stretched and reached a hand up to Skull's face, brushing purple hair back from his right temple and exposing fresh scars no longer hidden by makeup.

"And that would be where Bermuda stepped out of line," he said, white hair shifting as he tilted his head, glasses catching the light and obscuring his narrowing eyes.

"Yeah," Skull said flatly, " _that_ surprise was a hell of a lot less pleasant. I haven't decided if I want to have a chat with Bermuda about that yet. I know some of the others are occasionally resentful that I wasn't stuck in their form after giving up the Pacifier, but the reminder that I get landed with repeat goes as Cloud is usually enough to mitigate things. So I'm not sure what exactly Bermuda's pissed at me about, but if the fucker put me in the hospital _just_ to get the damn watch I am going to yell at him."

"And don't even think about it!" Skull snapped, catching the retreating hand. "I know that look. You aren't allowed to mess with them. _I_ will handle my own shit, if and how I want to, thank you very much. _You_ will kindly not be an asshole by further antagonizing the group of people who have legitimate issues with you, alright?"

Skull huffed, shifting back into the mattress as his partner relaxed backwards despite the left hand Skull still held onto. He knew better than to think the Mist was anything near as calm and accepting as he was playing at right now, but it was going to take a few decades anyway for Skull himself to get over the bizarre crapshoot this go around had whiplashed into.

Future memories. _Future memories,_ for fuck's sake. Really?! Humans got more ridiculous the longer they had access to science, and Skull was going to _laugh_ at the next person who said Mists were the insane ones. Skull would bet a fully tricked out bike that not a single one of the Bovino were a proper Mist, and he knew that the Irie Shoichi who was somehow linked to that box animal bullshit was a Sun.

Give him a Mist any day over a scientist who doesn't think things through.

 _Although Skies aren't much my favorite right now either_ , he thought, uneasy as he remembered Byakuran's older self. Skull played with the other man's hand, gently moving fingers and tracing lines as he tried to not think about the things he recalled of that possible future. Or rather, more disturbingly, the things he _partially_ recalled, like something from a fever dream or hallucination or the agonizing unmaking process that accompanied a Pacifier shift.

Skull knew enough to realize that hadn't _quite_ died from the anti-tri-ni-set radiation. One of them would have removed the Pacifier before that happened and just dealt with the side-effects... but he also knew that the Sky Sacrifice had _brought him too_ which had disturbing as hell implications.

There was a _reason_ Skull had that helmet of his altered _immediately_ once those memories hit in the present day timeline. Radiation death was now high up on his list of twisted shit he didn't like experiencing. He wouldn't even vaguely disapprove this time if a certain Mist decided to interfere with Byakuran since Bermuda was off limits. The type of crazy which thought world-wide radiation was the answer to getting what he wanted wasn't necessarily a type of crazy Skull was comfortable coexisting with.

The fact that Byakuran's plans _worked_ didn't actually improve anything. His ability to look sideways into other...

Skull frowned down at the hand he was holding. "Do you think Byakuran knows about me? He looked sideways, right? Not forwards or back? You and I didn't interact during this Pacifier run, but some worlds function on different time rates so... It would explain some of the looks he shoots me when no one's watching..."

Skull pouted when the hand withdrew but subsided when it moved back down so the other could massage his knee.

"Even if he does, it shouldn't be an issue," the white haired man man said, thumbs pushing into muscle as Mist Flames seeping out to induce a warmth that made Skull gasp and jerk. "I set a geis on the stones centuries ago that spreads like a virus to anyone who remains within a stone's radius for more than one minute. _If_ someone knew what you are, they couldn't speak or implicate it to anyone else before they would forget what they were doing. Repeated attempts to actively undermine that would result in brain damage before they'd get around it unless they're speaking to you or I directly. Given his collaboration with Yuni, it's not an issue."

"You might... have mentioned... that befo— stop that!" Skull gasped breathlessly, slapping the hands off his thigh and twisting back onto his front, breathing deeply through the stifling pillow as he ignored the Mist practically radiating satisfaction behind him. After a few moments of breathing and ignoring the soft chuckles behind him, Skull turned his face to scowl backwards futilely.

"Stop being a distracting bastard. We were having a _conversation_. Distraction is not a part of conversation," Skull said, adding a quick 'shut up' when the sneak started opening his mouth with a glint in his purple eyes.

"I was just lightning the conversation," the other defended, an open, innocent look on his face despite the pleased feel in his Flames. "You were in such an unusually good mood when you arrived: I almost thought you were high. It seemed a shame to loose that."

"I was not _high_ ," Skull defended indignantly, rolling over and dragging the sheet back over him as he propped himself up on one elbow to wave an accusing finger at the Mist's face. " _You_ are the one who brought up Bermuda, you know. I was perfectly content to lay here, pretending to be an indolently napping cat while you copped a feel under the pretense of massaging me. A week, _Kawahira_! One week post Pacifier loss, and I feel like a teenager with growing pains instead of an ICU patient who got stepped on by a gundam! That is worth a good mood big enough to drink the Atlantic, and you _ruined my vibe_."

The Mist snorted uncharacteristically before putting a hand on Skull's bare chest, pushing the unimpressed Cloud backwards to lay flat again before turning to move halfway onto the bed himself rather than sitting on the edge.

"Well, let's put you back in a nice mood again. We can start with why you keep having smirks bubble through your Flame when you say 'Kawahira'," he offered, dragging his hand down to Skull's stomach where he left it on the stuntman's abs as he tapped a distracting finger slowly.

Skull tried to look at the hand suspiciously because, well, _duh_ , but...

He snrked. "Kawahira. _Kawahira_. You picked 'river peace' for a name!" he laughed, reaching back to readjust a pillow more comfortably under his head before just shoving his arms under the pillow and grinning.

"It was the name of the shop."

"I'll just bet it was."

"Well, _Skuld_ , not everyone's original name has such a close equivalent that's in use nowadays, do they?" he retorted with a smile, tracing along the edge of the sheet where it had settled low on Skull's hips.

"But _Kawahira_ ," Skull said, openly laughing despite the heat building in his stomach. "What the hell, Urðr? And another thing, come here, come here!" he urged, removing his right hand so he could make grabby motions at his partner who humored him by getting up on the bed and settling between the Cloud's spread knees.

Skull leaned forward to carefully snatch the other man's glasses from his face, looking at the round lenses as he dropped backwards and ignoring the hands that settled on his stomach.

"I can't believe you wore these things. They don't flatter you in the least, and they're ugly—"

"You wear makeup," Urðr interrupted.

"Tons of humans have done that throughout history, and _shit_ , I need new makeup along with having someone inconspicuous get my damn helmet for me. Anyway, I suppose the arms of the glasses are alright," he commented, flipping them around and putting them on his own face, "but I don't understand why— ARGH!"

Skull jerked them off after making the mistake of looking straight at the Mist and cursed as he tried blinking spots out of his eyes.

"You shouldn't steal people glasses, Skuld," Urðr said, smirking outright as he plucked the frames away from the cursing man who was busy rubbing his eyes. "It's very rude."

"You fucking cheat," the purple-haired Cloud bitched, staring up at the laughing man through blurry spots as the other shifted weight onto the hand braced against Skull's chest as he leaned forward to put the glasses on the bedstand near the wall. "You altered those glasses to visually see Flame reserves while you looked for the next Arcobaleno group and then you just _let me_ look right at you, you asshole! What trick did you use to avoid getting blinded while looking at me wearing those?"

Urðr just laughed instead of answering, reaching forward to cradle either side of Skull's face as he gently swept thumbs under Skull's watery eyes. "I thought it was an object lesson to not be too nosy."

"Like I'm the one who's nosy between the two of us," he retorted, closing his eyes and baring his throat as one hand slipped from his face to trace down his neck before switching to nails that scraped lightly down his chest. He breathed out in a slow hiss as Urðr deliberately flicked one fingernail back and forth over his left nipple.

"So you laughed at the name Kawahira," the Mist continued idly, shifting forward until his folded knees were settled under Skull's upper thighs, "and at the glasses. What else did you find amusing?"

"Someone," Skull said, planting his feet on the bed as Urðr's other hand shifted from his face to his thigh, "said that in the future you were married 'at least three times' and had a daughter who I-pin borrowed a kimono from. Gotta admit tha- that threw me," he gasped as Urðr scraped nails down his inner thigh. "I don't- don't remember getting hitched!"

He jerked as the fingers on his chest twisted lightly and the absolute _cheat_ let loose Mist Flames that snuck up his legs, trailing warmth as they went.

"That girl is going to grow up to be lovely and very bad at detecting Mist constructs," Urðr said, turning his head to drop a kiss on Skull's inner forearm after the stuntman reached up to bury a hand in white hair. "As for the marriages, well... humans are so fond of drama, aren't they? The Vongola are particularly overflowing with it."

"You _cannot_ ," Skull hissed, "be trying to convince _me_ that as a non-human you are above drama. I was _there_ at those Arcobaleno meetings, you ramen addict! You and drama are— _fuck!_ "

Skull jerked as Urðr bit down on his shoulder hard, mouth drying up as his back arched. He clenched his fingers at the second bite that followed and panted when the Mist Flames sliding over his stomach started shifting between heat and static.

"You know," he gasped, biting down on a moan at the third bite, "that I don't bruise."

"Not _easily_ ," his partner said agreeably, voice deepening. "But you _do_ like purple. It seems like it should be my responsibility to make sure you can wear it even without clothes. And you heard about the ramen, hmm?"

Skull had to blink blankly at the ceiling for a moment to get his brain to restart.

"I can't, you— What? Right, ramen, right... They said you were eating ramen while talking to them when they first met you. Kept right on eating it while playing bystander with _Zakuro_ and ignoring Reborn's threats. Something about complaining about noodles?"

"There is nothing to like about soggy noodles, Skuld," he said, reaching a hand up to untangle Skull's fingers from his hair before intertwining them with his own and pinning them to the sheets at the right of Skull's head.

And then he stopped.

He _stopped_ , Flames, hands, teeth and all, the _tease,_ and just pulled back and asked, "What are you going to do now?"

Skull let out a muffled shriek through clenched teeth.

"You remember," he started slowly, eyes beginning to glow purple, "that unlike other people, I could hit you right now and it would _actually hurt_."

"You would probably break something," the Mist agreed, eyes darted down to the purple Flames dancing around the fist clenching in the front of his green kimono. "I just thought it was important to be on the same page about what your plans are with this unexpected change in fortune."

"My plans," Skull grit out, tempted to shake the man as he threw his left leg over Urðr's hips, "were to come here, brag about winning our bet since they still think I'm useless twenty plus years later, and figure the rest out during the time I'll have to lay low while the others catch up to their adult forms, however long that'll take them. However, if you mean my plans for _now-now,_ as in _while-I'm-in-this-bed-now_ , it's starting to shift from 'enjoy myself' to 'yelling at an asshole to _stop ruining the mood'!_ "

Urðr laughed, chuckles deepening in pitch as he leaned in to share a slow kiss, white hair mixing with purple bangs.

"I think," the other man whispered, lips touching Skull's, "I rather like the aftermath of this good mood of yours. You might participate a bit more though."

"I could _rip_ that ugly green thing you're wearing off, if that's what you want," Skull offered, dead serious as he dragged the man down flush against him.

Urðr just laughed some more as he kissed him again.

**Author's Note:**

> And there we are! One of my headcanons for immortal Skull: he is part Earthling.
> 
> As mentioned in [the thread that started it all](http://archiveofourown.org/comments/58005766), this verse has Skull as being fully Earthling and one of the last seven members who helped create the Pacifiers. Unlike Kawahira who has a different skillset, Skull was better suited to be a repeat Arcobaleno almost since the beginning although he was initially too young for the others to be willing to let him bear it. (They were worried it would interfere with his development: 19 in Earthling years is ~5 in human years.) And I imagine that when they have to use human carriers, the excess of Cloud Flames with their Propagation factor is probably helpful in making each Arcobaleno set last for as long as possible. I don't think this Skull is the _only_ Cloud because it wouldn't be healthy to bear the Pacifier constantly on the occasions they need back-to-back Arcobaleno groups, but when they have enough leeway to wait several decades between sets, Skull often goes right back to his role.
> 
> Tidbit #1: He was in the same set as each of the Vindice at one point. People only have a chance of surviving when Skull's greater Flame reserves are there to blunt the trauma of the Pacifier removal.
> 
> Tidbit #2: The Vindice don't know that Skull's immortal because he's an Earthling. Skull's not enthused about them finding out either, but given that they're now in charge of the Pacifier Jars, the Cloud's resigned to figuring out some way to break the news so that they don't go crazy upon finding out. After all, they now have the potential to immediately disrupt the Tri-Ni-Sette.
> 
> Tidbit #3: Even after growing up (god knows how long ago), Skull tended to keep out of Sephira and Kawahira's disagreements. They were older and actually remembered Earthling society rather than having to learn about it after the fact like Skull did. Skull was young enough that outside the remaining 6 Earthlings, everyone he remembers meeting was human(ish): he doesn't look down on them like Kawahira sometimes does. But he does resent Sephira just a bit for choosing diminish herself and die rather than staying with them.
> 
> Tidbit #4: It occurred to me that there's NO WAY that Kawahira's name is actually Kawahira when he's not even human and definitely not Japanese, so I immediately wanted different origin names for him, Sephira, and Skull. They aren't going to think of each other by fake names after all, so discussions between them needed their real names. Due to the tempting similarity between Skull and Skuld, and how I think it's likely that (partially incorrect) myths could have started featuring Earthlings, Kawahira's name is Urðr and Sephira's was Verdandi. It sounded like an awesome idea since they administered the Tri-Ni-Sette and legends said the Norns determined people's fates.


End file.
